Chipping on the Green?

[rubbery]

I tried it on Sunday when I was faced with about a 65 foot eagle putt that would've had to go through the rough. I had never tried to chip on the green before and the result was less then favorable and I ended up taking a bogey.

Do you have any particular chipping strategy when your putt is just too long and difficult or do you pretty much just smack the putt as hard as you can?

p.s. that was my second eagle opportunity of the round. I made par the first time

[oo77oo]

I just smack it and try to put it on the best line possible to get it close enough to the hole for a 2 putt.

[Dub]

Never wanted to try it even though I've had situations where it may have been the easiest way to snug it up to the hole.

I was always afraid that lightening bolts would come down from the sky if I damaged the putting surface.....at least I feel they should.

[Zeph]

Chip on the green? That's new. Sounds like badly designed greens if you cannot let it roll on the green all the way to the hole.

[donkba]

chipping on the green is not new, and mickelson has done it on the pga tour, so are the greens on tour badly designed?

[FortAsel]

been there chipped in

[BritBoy]

if I'm looking a huge putt like that I will usually pull a hybrid. The few times I've done it it has worked well.

[TheWarHound]

Never thought of chipping on the green . . . or using a hybrid on a reallllly long putt.

I would set up a long putt as a two-putt, too.

[tjy355]

  donkba said:

chipping on the green is not new, and mickelson has done it on the pga tour, so are the greens on tour badly designed?

You think it's not possible that the PGA tours plays on some courses that have poorly designed greens or holes ??

Anyway, the OP didn't mention which course he found this situation. A green with a shape that looks like you might have to chip from one area to another might offer other options that aren't immediately obvious or require some imagination - usually a bank or contour that requires putting away from the hole but feeds the ball back. I would think a green that doesn't offer this option is indeed a poor design.

[michaeljames92]

Brandt Snedeker did it at the Masters this year. Sometimes putts have rough in the way if the green is not circular, and it can be effective every now and then. I have never been faced with this shot, and if I was, I'd be certainly scared of screwing up the greens.

[Fourputt]

There are lots of greens around the world that are shaped such that a ball in the wrong portion of the green can't be putted to certain hole locations. Look at the 6th hole at Riviera.... bunker in the middle of the green. However, you rarely see this sort of design on a public access course as the greenskeeper really doesn't want Joe Average to be chipping on his carefully manicured greens.

The Rules allow it, but I've played courses where you would be ejected for doing so. Personally, I'd be inclined to be very careful about trying such a shot. I like the hybrid idea, but even that may not get you on the line you need to leave a reasonable 2nd putt. And trying a SW or LW is an easy way to take a nasty divot, not to mention a difficult shot from such a tight lie.

In this situation I'm going to play the best shot I can to get as close to the hole as possible without risking damage to the green. One stroke just isn't worth the problems that can arise from taking a divot out of a beautiful green.

[RemyM]

  Fourputt said:

Look at the 6th hole at Riviera.... bunker in the middle of the green.

IIRC, Riviera actually has a local rule for regular play that says you must only use a putter when on that green. Of course since it's contrary to the rules of golf it's not in effect when the PGA Tour or USGA plays there.

[case31]

There have been a few times where my ball landed on a part of the green where my path to the hole was obstructed by rough. In those cases, the only chance I had to avoid a likely three putt was to chip.
What I won't mention is that sometimes I don't get the chip close and then two putt, which produces the same score as a three-putt from the original spot, but I digress...
It is very possible to chip the ball and not damage the green. You just have to make sure you pinch the ball, which will help produce spin and hopefully get you close.

[Fourputt]

  case31 said:

There have been a few times where my ball landed on a part of the green where my path to the hole was obstructed by rough. In those cases, the only chance I had to avoid a likely three putt was to chip.

I don't get that... if you pinch the ball you are striking the ball with a descending stroke and would be even more likely to damage the green than if you just chipped with a sweeping type of stroke. Most mid to high handicappers don't have sufficient control of the clubhead anyway to chip and not take some turf. Either that or they try to play it too fine and skull the ball straight into that rough that they are trying to avoid.

It is still a pretty rare situation. Most courses don't have greens that would require such a shot, and even those which do would still have a very small area where the combination of ball and hole location would leave no other options.

[case31]

  Fourputt said:

I don't get that... if you pinch the ball you are striking the ball with a descending stroke and would be even more likely to damage the green than if you just chipped with a sweeping type of stroke. Most mid to high handicappers don't have sufficient control of the clubhead anyway to chip and not take some turf. Either that or they try to play it too fine and skull the ball straight into that rough that they are trying to avoid.

Like any other shot, it requires practice. Plus, if you are faced with this type of shot, it is likely that you only need a short backswing and follow-through. The green should be firm enough so that the mark left from the swing is similar to a normal ball mark. All this is true if you can execute the shot properly.

Let's face it, if a player's skill level is such that he/she is constantly worried about skulling or chunking, he/she probably wouldn't attempt a chip on the green anyway.

[packerfan1]

Chipping on the green was done more in the days when the stymie was legal, not so much now, as it usually results in torn up greens.

[Dent]

  FortAsel said:

been there chipped in

Sorry but..That is the most useless post ever. What kind of information do you have to contribute to this topic? The OP asked if there was any strategies to use, or what to do. He didn't ask what your results were or If you've ever chipped in from the putting green.

That post came off as basically a brag. Although I'm not doing the same, please contribute some info or help to the thread.

[hamletsdead]

I did it with an 85 foot putt last week -- one of those greens shaped like a long football with my ball at one end and the pin at the other, and a couple funky ridges and spines in between. Didn't really take a divot, so the greens keeper will never know.